Cecil has a lot of flashbacks. Just a heads up.

Also, more of the charming citizens of Mysidia, for your entertainment.

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Chapter 5: Radioactive

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As the brothers emerged from Devil's Road, they promptly collapsed on the floor beyond the teleporter, both sick with dizziness.

"I don't understand," Cecil grumbled, rubbing his throbbing head. "Its not supposed to be this way..."

"This road was born of Lunarian technology," Theo pointed out. "The source of its magic being so near again may be effecting its performance."

"Oh. Terrific. Are you okay?"

"I've certainly been better."

Satisfied, and with the sickness quickly wearing off, Cecil climbed to his feet and helped his brother up. They went up the enclosure's staircase to the door at the top, which notably bore a doorknob instead of a switch. Outside, the bright July sun stood almost at three o'clock, and the day was already beginning to darken slightly.

Time was relative, indeed, Cecil thought as they wordlessly hurried down the street. He silently prayed that they still had enough.

Theo had never actually seen the city for himself, he realized. Cecil knew the streets fairly well, for himself. He knew all the best routes to the tower of prayer; the twins had personally taught him all that they knew of Mysidia's winding roads. Some were better at midday, and others in the evenings when the citizens were rushing home from their day's work. However, any road would have been fine today. The streets were largely deserted, the people shut up in their houses, in fear and meditation. The few people he did see looked relieved that he was there, at last. He wondered if they were even aware that something had happened at the tower... And if they cared, if they did know.

As they approached the towering tower, Theo gazed up its length in stunned awe.

"Impressive," he commented. "Surely, you must have one good memory of this place."

"Well... I suppose there are one or two," he agreed as he reached for the door handle. One such memory came to him immediately. It had begun very much like this, as he had opened this very door many years earlier...

He had barely opened the door, when a streak of red and green pounced on him in a fit of overjoyed laughter, nearly toppling him over.

"Whoa, whoa, let me breathe a little," he said good naturedly, hugging them right back.

"You said you'd be here by noon," Porom scolded indignantly. "It's half past noon now! Where have you been?"

Behind them, Rosa was giggling, amused by the scene before her. "Patience, you two. It is a virtue, after all."

"Aw, we don't have time for stuff like that," Palom retorted, running up to hug her as well.

"I think you've gotten taller, young man," she commented. He was only half a head shorter than she was, now. Not long ago, he hadn't quite reached her shoulders.

"Yup, I sure have," he agreed, flexing his arms. "I've been eating my string beans, like Yang said. Turns out they're not so bad, with some butter."

"You mean a lot of butter," Porom corrected. "You'll get fat, the way you eat."

"No way. That'll never happen."

As they walked together into the tower, Porom jumped onto Cecil's back. He sighed and let her cling to his shoulders, carrying her inside. For old time's sake. She was becoming too unwieldy for this, but it was her birthday.

"Can you believe it?" she said in his ear. "Ten whole years already! I don't feel ten, though..."

"Has anything changed?"

"Not really. It seems like everyone's forgotten again."

That made him very sad, and a little angry. Double digits was a big deal. It was the end of an era, the beginning of a big change in any child's life. Thinking that the twin's tenth birthday would have gone unnoticed if he hadn't come was frustrating.

"So," Rosa said, changing the subject, "here we are. What would you kids like to do today?"

"We could climb the mountain again, for fun," Palom suggested. "Maybe I could get me a forbidden spell!"

"I don't think so."

"We could go to the beach," Porom suggested instead. "We can walk through the garden on our way-the beach is right behind it. I planted a patch of ranunculuses in the spring, and they're so pretty now! They're all red and white; I wish they came in green, too. And I've heard we're getting a new fountain this winter."

"You're obsessed with the garden, sis."

"I've spent a lot of time in it."

Cecil and Rosa exchanged a smile. "I think that sounds nice," she said. "To the beach, then?"

"To the beach, it is," Cecil agreed. "Let's grab some food, first. You can't spend a day on the beach without a picnic. Everyone knows that."

Porom hopped off his back and skipped off in a different direction. "I'll ask the Elder If he wants to come, too. He hasn't been down to the beach in a long time. I bet he'd like it."

Cecil sighed. That had been a great day. He feared what would greet him inside, today.

He pushed the door open to see a small crowd of people waiting anxiously just inside. More noticeable than all of them was Palom, pacing back and forth, his pants and white shirt covered in darkening blood. The boy looked up at once, his face pale and stricken, stopping in midstep as if he didn't believe what he was seeing.

As soon as it registered, he sprang forward and threw his bloodied arms around his friend, sobbing abysmally.

"You've got to do something! You've got to save her!"

"I know, I know," he whispered back, holding him close. "Its going to be okay, just show me where she is."

Palom took a shaking breath, wiping his tears on the back of his hand, leaving his cheek smeared with blood. He grabbed Cecil's hand and hauled him off toward a side room-one of the tower's many medical rooms. He felt more than saw Theo following him at a respectful distance, wanting to help but unsure how he could be useful.

Inside the room, the first thing they saw was the Elder's back, and his head bowed in prayer. When he turned around to see that Cecil had come so quickly, the man looked overwhelmingly relieved.

"Thank goodness, you've arrived," he said, also grabbing the paladin and pulling him forward. "Perhaps your holy powers can do some good here."

He sounded desperate, and Cecil immediately saw why. Porom occupied the room's only bed, and her state was horrifying. There was no color left in her skin; her blood-soaked dress was all the brighter for it. The smell of it was acrid and irony, and filled with the foul, sickly sweet smell of infection. Her breath came in shallow gasps that sounded painful. She appeared to be unconscious, under the influence of a higher leveled Sleep spell. She had to have been. If she was in as much pain as she seemed to be, sleep would have been impossible.

He took her hand in his, reaching out with a Sight spell. Her pulse had grown faint, and her skin was cold as ice.

"What happened to her?"

"We do not know," Malachi confessed sorrowfully. "Palom found her like this last night. We had feared she had injured herself, by some accident. It seems instead that some terrible illness has taken her. All last night she spent coughing up blood. Twice she has vomited buckets of it. As if it were trying deliberately to escape her body. My magic has yet to find a cause or a cure. I had hoped..."

"That perhaps I could."

"Yes. Your holy magic is unlike mine. Please, can you tell us what has happened?"

The sparkling green aura of the Sight spell settled slowly, finding it hard to adhere to a subject trapped so closely between life and death. It settled over Porom, struggling to soak into her skin. When it did at last, nothing happened. On any other day, it would have examined the subject and spoken back the strengths and weaknesses it had found. Today, Cecil heard nothing back from it. As if it had just given up trying and expired, or had been choked to death somehow.

"...Well?" Malachi asked impatiently when Cecil didn't answer. "Have you found anything?"

Cecil shook his head, bewildered and frightened.

"I don't understand..."

He turned to face his companions, pained by their expressions. Malachi was disappointed, and out of ideas. Palom was despairing, ready to break down and cry again. Theo hovered in the doorway, still searching for a way he could be helpful.

Theo's dark eyes darted down to Palom, who wrapped his arms around himself and began to rock back and forth helplessly. Suddenly, he looked like he saw something.

"This is her blood?" he asked, gesturing to Palom's ruined shirt. Looking offended by that stupid question, he nodded.

"Let me see."

Confused but more than willing, Palom tugged his shirt off and handed it over. Theo ran his fingertips over a particularly thick patch of blood, as if he were reading it for hidden symbols. He scraped some of it off and rubbed it between his fingers, testing its texture; it looked sticky and scaly, and he made a disgusted face at it. He made another face, bracing himself... To everyone's disgust, he dared to brush his bloodied finger across his tongue. He immediately began to cough, and spat into his hand. But he looked like he had found a revelation.

"I know what this is."

A gasp of relief filled the room.

"Tell us," Cecil insisted.

"It is a poisoning of the blood. The Lunarians have seen it happen often, as a result of the magic which powers the twin moon. This magic follows forces of light, guiding the moon toward stars-such as our sun. But, at a terrible price, it also attacks other forces of light that could compete with and overwhelm them. Forces such as white magic."

Everyone was puzzled by this.

"I know, it is hard to explain. How can I say this...? It is a form of radiation, not unlike the crystals. It radiates energy. The crystals radiate a positive energy, giving strength and magical power to weaker beings; when it adheres to a person, it builds them up. The moon's energy radiates a negative energy, destroying weaker beings. It adheres to people in the same way the crystals do; only instead of building them up, it tears them down."

"So, the moon's energy is making her sick?"

"It is killing her. It has adhered to her, and deemed her a potential threat. The human body is an amazing and complex thing: when it senses something harmful inside it, it does everything it can to get it out. The girl's blood has been poisoned by the moon's radiation, and now her body is rejecting it."

"That's stupid!" Palom yelled. "If her body was so smart, it would know it needs that blood! She's going to die without it!"

"Her blood is useless. If it remains in her body, it will kill her anyway!"

"Great! Fantastic! So what are you going to do about it, smart guy?!"

"I... I'm not sure yet..."

"Theo," Cecil cut in, "the Lunarians have dealt with this before. Surely they know of a way to cure this."

"They do, though they have never tested it on human beings. And the technology is all the way up there," Theo explained, pointing to the ceiling.

"And why should it be our Porom?" Malachi pleaded. "Surely the people of the moon should find no threat in this little one. She is a remarkable prodigy, to be sure; but she is only human, after all."

"...This is the strange thing," Theo said slowly, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Tests for a cure were never conducted on human beings, because no human being has ever been known to posses such power to rival theirs. Only those of Lunarian blood could posses that kind of power."

A stunned silence settled over the room.

"What are you saying?" Cecil asked warily.

"That if she has suffered this fate, it can only be on account of her Lunarian blood. And a high concentration of it, at that. Only as far back as two or three generations. Who are her parents?"

"We don't know," Malachi admitted.

"Oh... I see..."

That was a profound idea. And it suddenly explained so many things. Their unusual aptitude for magic, their insatiable pursuit of knowledge and order, their disregard for basic physical limitations and ability to surpass them... Whoever the twin's parents were, one of them had been at least part Lunarian.

Had KluYa been the only one to visit the Blue Planet recently? Could there be others hiding around the world right now? Could it be, that Palom and Porom really did have a family missing them at this very moment?

But it was all too much for Palom. His breath became short, and he looked like he might begin to hyperventilate. Hot, angry tears were streaming down his face again. With a strangled cry of fury, he turned and fled.

Cecil could guess at what his young friend was feeling. Confusion, anger, maybe even betrayal for some unknown reason. He had been sorely cheated, all these years. Cheated of knowledge that could have made his life very different. Knowing very well what it was like to be a nameless orphan, and to finally learn where he had come from, Cecil didn't blame him.

"There may be a way to treat her, right here on the Blue Planet," Theo said slowly. "This radiation attacks the light. Therefore, it can be treated with darkness. The Lunarians posses eight crystals, as this planet does-four of the light, and four of the dark. Exposure to the moon's dark crystals has counteracted this poisoning in the past. Exposure to this planet's dark crystals should produce the same effect."

"Then we should do that," Cecil insisted. "We should do that right now!"

"I cannot say for sure if it will work. These are two very different types of energy. This plan may work exactly the opposite from what we hope."

"It is worth a try. We have to try."

Theo nodded. "Yes, we do."

"What must be done, then?" Malachi asked. "Whatever you need, I will provide."

"Make her as ready to travel as you can. I'm going to write to my wife and send for an airship. We are going to the Underworld."

"A pen and paper, then. You will find both in the library."

"Thank you. Ill be back shortly."

As Cecil left, he heard the Elder address Theo.

"It is a blessing and a miracle to have you here, kind stranger. May I ask your name, young man?"

"It is Theo."

Something was going halfway right. Perhaps this ordeal would have a happy ending.

As he sat in the library, scribbling letters and sending them off, he heard snippets of the other mages' conversations.

"It can't be mere coincidence, that no other white mages have fallen ill."

"Yes, I know. The only unclean white mage in the city is the only one to be sick. Thank goodness for small things."

"We all warned him that no good could come of keeping those two around. Like a pair of mongrel pups to keep as pets. When you take in strays, your whole house ends up filled with fleas. We've all warned him, that no one can deny."

"All the same, those two should be put under quarantine. For the safety and fairness of the rest of us. The proper rites can ward off ill curses, true. But what if this is no mere curse of defiled men? They don't always ward off disease. And if my children fall prey to whatever the brat has contracted, there will be hell to pay for it."

Having to listen to these comments made Cecil's blood boil. Knowing that retaliation was futile made him feel even worse. The one time he had tried had been the time he had decided never to try again.

"But look at all they've done for you!" he shouted at the mages before him. "They've saved your lives! We would not be here if it weren't for them!"

The white mage fixed his hood nervously and stated plainly, "Because of you, we are saved. The twins have had very little to do with it."

"And without them I would be dead, a thousand times! I don't understand how you refuse to see this!"

"Those who are unclean are unclean for a reason, paladin," the black mage said starkly. "You merely perceive them as pure and good, because you are yourself unclean. It is simply the way things are. There is no one to blame but themselves."

"Or those who refuse to grant them mercy."

"What, and sully ourselves? I think not! I will not ruin myself, on behalf of two waifs who can't point to their own father. They were born in darkness, and they will live and die in darkness. That is not our fault."

"So that's it, then. Here you are, the world's great mages, and you refuse to help them. No matter what they do, you will not save them."

"The sooner you come to accept their fate, the sooner you will find peace," the white mage instructed calmly. Serenely. "We have done this, and we are all the better for it. We suggest you do the same, young man."

Cecil gave them a testy smile. "You forget. I am a paladin. Denying someone mercy for something no one can help is a luxury I am no longer allowed."

The black mage sniffed doubtfully. "You speak mightily. But test this against the man we all know you are. You will see reason, in time."

Cecil had deliberately carried on with few Mysidians since then. It was Malachi who had shown him forgiveness, and the twins who had shown him the path to it. The Mysidians who had faith in him saw him only as a product of their own making-a shining example of the redemption they preached, who should therefore belong solely to them. Mostly, they treated him with the indifference that they practiced when they weren't interacting with the outside world. He had done terrible things against his will, in a moment of weakness. In their eyes, he could never be truly redeemed. No matter how frequently he save their city or their lives, or anything else, he was lost. It couldn't be helped that he was to be unclean for the rest of his life. There was no reason to get themselves dirty trying.

They could beat him all they wanted. He could handle it. But to punish children for the manner of their birth-as if they had chosen it on purpose-was a crime worthy of every punishment these people feared most.

Cecil finished a short letter to the dwarf king, keeping it as brief as he could, and sent it. He hoped the dwarves could assemble all four of their world's crystals by the time he got down there. Even with the impending wait for the airship to arrive, the trip would not take long. He didn't even expect a reply from Rosa. Knowing her, she would simply jump to action and arrive in Mysidia well before nightfall.

In the meantime, he decided it was time to find Palom and explain the plan to him. In spite of his battling emotions, knowing that there was a real plan in place would bring him a measure of peace. And Cecil had a pretty good idea of where to find him. He backtracked to the broom closet outside the kitchen, and another memory occurred to him.

He slowly opened the door, not surprised at all to find Palom huddled in the corner, crying into his knees.

"Hey, can I come in?"

"Go away!"

Cecil ignored him and stepped into the closet, closing the door behind him and sitting in front of the boy.

"Your sister said I might find you here."

"She did what?! Tattle-tale..."

"Come on, tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can help."

"No way, you can't. You're a paladin now. You can't just go around punching people in the face anymore."

"..."

"One of the big kids was pulling my hair. He tried to cut my braid off! He said it was unfair that I got to wear it. He said I didn't deserve it. He said... I deserve to die. I don't even know what I did!"

Feeling deeply sorry, Cecil carefully scooped the boy into his lap and gave him a hug. Palom didn't return it; he just flopped limply against his chest and sighed wearily.

"Cecil, why are they so mean?"

"I don't know, Palom. If I could change that, I would."

"Do you think they'll ever be nice?"

"I... Don't know. But I'll always be nice to you. And so will all the other Light Warriors. No matter what happens, we love you. We all do."

Palom was hardly a little boy to have his feelings easily hugged away anymore. That didn't matter. He needed a hug, and no one else was going to give him one.

Inside the closet, Palom sat huddled in the corner, unusually small for his age. As if he were trying to disappear entirely. Not waiting for a response-knowing he wouldn't get one-Cecil stepped inside and closed the door, sitting in front of him.

"I had a feeling I'd find you here."

"I don't know what to do... I feel so cold..."

Cecil took his ha ds and held them tightly; they were, in fact, very cold. "Everything is going to be alright. I promise."

"You can't promise something like that. My sister's going to die, isn't she?"

"She doesn't have to. We have a plan: we're taking her to the Underworld."

Palom looked up with confusion in his eyes. "What? What good is that going to do?"

"Theo says that if light has made her sick, then maybe darkness can make her well again. I've sent a letter to the dwarves, asking them to assemble their crystals for us; and Rosa is coming with an airship that will take us there."

Palom made a face. "Who the heck is that guy? Why does he care? Why is he even here?"

"He is like me," Cecil explained slowly. "His father was a Lunarian. He had been with them for a long time, but decided it was time to return."

"So its his fault this has happened!"

"No, its not. They didn't know this would happen. And now he's trying to help. Don't be this way."

"If he hadn't had to come back, none of this would have happened! None of it! I wish he had never come here!"

"Palom-"

"I never asked to know this! I was better off not knowing! When he could have been anyone, anywhere, it was one thing-but he was just a Lunarian, like all the others. He never cared..."

"Well... Mine did."

Palom sniffled, not cheered in the least. "What does it matter, now? Porom was right. We'll never find our father after all. I always thought we could, if we just looked hard enough. I was so stupid."

"No, you weren't. You were brave to hope, and braver to get up and go search for yourselves. Many others would have done the same. Heaven knows I did."

"But its not the same... This plan of his, is it really going to work?"

"He doubts himself, but I do not. There's no reason it shouldn't work."

"Why do you trust him? You don't even know him."

"I do, actually. A little. I have every reason to trust him. He knows what he's talking about, even if he lacks the confidence that comes naturally to us."

"Speak for yourself. I feel so useless. My sister is dying, and I don't even have the power to ease her pain. If I lose her... Cecil, if she dies, I don't know what I'm going to do. We've never been apart, not a day in all our life. I don't even know if I can live without her. If I lose her now, I might just follow her without meaning to."

"Then we can't lose her, can we? I'm not letting that happen, and I refuse to believe you would give up this easily. We'll all live through this; we'll walk through it together. Perhaps as a true family."

"...You really think we might be related?"

"Who knows? Perhaps we've been right here under each other's noses all along. Perhaps destiny brought us together just for this. I would certainly like to think so, and I intend to go on acting like it."

"Huh... I guess I can believe in that, too."

"That's more like the Palom we all know and love. Come on, lets get out of this closet and get ready to go. If I know my wife, she's already on her way."

Palom let himself be hauled to his feet, and be led out of the closet. In the light outside, his lack of sleep showed starkly on his blood streaked face. Cecil put his arm around him and drew him toward the stairs.

"First thing's first, lets get you into some clean clothes. You can't go before the king of the Underworld without a shirt on."

A thought suddenly occurred to him as the climbed the stairs.

"Where are your friends? Ivri should be here, at least, shouldn't he?"

"I don't know. I had sent for them, but they never came. I wouldn't have left the summons to someone else, but I couldn't leave Porom. Not when she needed me. They probably have no idea what's happening. The people we sent probably never left the tower..."

Cecil nodded decisively. "You go change. I'll make sure they come."

"Thanks."

Cecil trotted back down the stairs and went back to the infirmary, where he found Theo and Malachi in deep conversation. However, when he came in, they stopped talking and looked at him expectantly.

"Well, letters have been sent," he announced. "Rosa should be here in a few hours, and I expect a reply from Giott soon. I don't think he will object to our request, he and his daughter are very fond of the twins. They'll be happy to help."

Malachi clasped his hand tightly. "Bless you, young man, for all your help. Whatever would we do without you?"

"There was something else. Where are Bethany and Ivri? Palom said they had been sent for, though they never actually came."

"Oh... They were sent for, weren't they," the older man said slowly. "I had quite forgotten, in all the commotion. My children needed the support of their friends. I had expected them to have come running. Though now that I look around, it seems they never did arrive."

"Perhaps those you sent to collect them never bothered leaving, while you were distracted."

Malachi frowned, displeased, and stormed out of the room. "I will see with my own eyes that this is rectified. My household grows ever smaller, it seems. Where have Alma and Kellan gone? Bring them to me at once!"

A pair of red mages cautiously made their way out of the crowd in the entrance hall, coming to stand rather grudgingly before him.

"Yes, your holiness?" the boy asked.

"Young man, I left you and your sister with a simple task. Do tell me that it was completed."

The girl, Alma, bowed her head sheepishly. "We thought it best if we remained here, should you need us for more pressing matters."

"There were few more pressing matters you could have been called upon for! You don't mean to tell me you never left!"

"It was an impertinent matter, sir," Kellan insisted. "Had we gone on that errand, it would have been a waste of time. Their parents would not have allowed them to leave. Not for this."

"Not even when their Elder summons them personally? You presume to know better than me? In my own house? And what, may I ask, have the two of you accomplished in that time, instead? Anything of relevance? Anything of great importance?"

"We have remained largely in the observatory," Kellan answered proudly. "Observing the twin moon for signs of change."

"And has it moved?"

The brother and sister gazed down at the floor, embarrassed.

Malachi glared upon them. "You are to take sirs Cecil and Theodore into the city-Kellan to Ivri's home, and Alma to Bethany's-so that there is a witness to your errand. And this time, if they are not brought to the tower immediately you will both lose more than your posts. I have no more to say of your lack of judgement. Take these men, and be on your ways."

Cecil stalked at once to Kellan, determined that he be the one to deliver the grim news to Ivri. After the fairly intimate exchange they had shared before, he owed it to the boy. Looking awkward and unsure, Theo walked behind Alma as the four of them walked to the door.

"Who are we going to see, again?" he asked.

"Their best friends. Alma will lead you to a young woman named Bethany; she is Palom's girlfriend, who he has been missing. For myself, I go to collect the young man who intends to marry Porom."

"Really? And here I was believing that no one else in the world cared about them." Now Theo turned his dark eyes on his forced companion. "Shame on you, There's barely any more heart in you than the Lunarians. This was low of you."

"Indeed," Cecil agreed, pointing a glare of his own on Kellan. "You don't deny comfort to people in turmoil like this. Not in good conscience. How are the two of you so pleased with yourselves? Mages should know better! Were you anywhere else in the world, you would have been stripped of your titles and more."

Kellan lowered his head so his face was shaded by his red cap. "Good thing we live here, then. With the proper rites, we will be absolved of this minor infraction."

"Yet no rite on this planet can absolve me of the things I've done?"

"Pardon me. I don't recall having slaughtered innocents in their temple."

"Pardon me. I don't see you climbing a zombie infested mountain to beg forgiveness."

"There is little to forgive. I disobeyed a foolish order, given by an old man who has no regard for our ancient, holy laws."

Theo snorted. "Incredible. That these are the people with the power to produce paladins. You fools do not deserve that privilege."

Alma dared to turn a glare of her own back on him. "It is our divine right. The defiled have no place sanctifying themselves. People such as yourselves don't know the meaning of purity."

"I see no purity here. You are as bad as I am. Perhaps more so, for your fiendish intentions."

Alma gasped in alarm at the jab, silenced at last, and looked quickly away. She veered off suddenly down a different street, and Theo followed her closely. Perhaps he didn't know where she was leading him, or much about the girl he was going to see, but he wasn't letting his guide out of his sight.

"Theo is right," Cecil growled. "At least we try."

"No one has tried harder than the Elder's household to make this right. If he had allowed us to simply slit her throat and put her out of her misery, this would have been long behind us by now."

"...You did what!?"

"As an act of mercy! If our magic cannot solve this, there is nothing left to do."

Cecil couldn't help himself. He felt his last scrap of patience snap, like a lyre string tuned too tightly. He grabbed Kellan by the shoulder, forced the boy to face him, and slapped him across the face with all his strength. Kellan yelped in shock and pain, his cry echoing pitifully through the deserted street. His feathered cap was knocked off his head, revealing his face at last. He looked fully terrified. Cecil allowed himself to feel mildly pleased, to have knocked some respect into him.

Still gripping him by the shoulder, he pointed sharply down the street.

"Move."

Kellan dared to be brave. "So much for a holy warrior."

"Justice, for those who cannot help themselves. Move."

Looking more than cowed, Kellan gave up being brave. He didn't even stop to retrieve his hat; all hes seemed to want was to escape the his chaperone's vengeful watch. After continuing down a few more streets in tense silence, Kellan approached a house with a bright yellow door and rapped on it sharply.

This had better be the right house. Too much time has been wasted with this task.

The door opened right away to reveal a blonde woman in a gray dress, looking weary from a long night and day's meditation. Though when she saw who was on her doorstep, she became much more alert.

"My lord!" she greeted politely, largely ignoring Kellan. "It is an honor. How may I help you?"

"Does a young man named Ivri live here?"

"Yes. He is my son," the woman answered warily.

Cecil nodded his head, pleased. "I must ask for him to come with us. The Elder has sent for him. Urgently."

"Mother? What's going on?"

Ivri appeared behind his mother, looking around her to see who was calling on them. She seemed to purposefully block his view and his way, but he saw his newest friend shining outside the door anyway. His freckled, bespectacled face lit up at once, and he gently pushed his mother aside.

"So, now you've come to us," he commented cheerily. "How can we help you, sir?"

Cecil hated to burst the boy's bubble. He came bearing extremely bad news. He reached forward and took him by the arm, pulling him out into the street.

"Ivri, you need to come to the tower. Right now."

"Is something wrong?"

"Porom is very sick. She may be dying. We're going to-"

"What?! No! Take me, now!"

Before they could dash off like Ivri clearly wanted to, his mother grabbed his other arm and held him back.

"I don't think so," she said darkly, scowling at Cecil for stirring up such trouble. "My only son needn't be where there is sickness. Be on your way, and don't bother us with this foolishness again."

"Mother, no! I need to be with her, and you're not going to stop me."

"Use your common sense, my son. This sickness will run its course. With any luck, it will remove a mighty stumbling block from your path."

But Ivri pushed her away, deciding for himself what his stumbling block really was. Cecil hadn't imagined the boy could look so angry, but he looked furious and indignant. Leaving his mother an icy look, he turned to join his guides. Not bothering to wait on Kellan, who would surely take his sweet time returning, Cecil and Ivri sped off together toward the tower.

They arrived to see that Theo and Bethany had already done very much the same thing-they had only reached the tower first because she lived closer to it. Like her brother, Alma had yet to make it back; it was unlikely that either of them would return at all. They met Theo at once, standing and waiting for them just inside the door. On the other side of the entrance hall, red-headed Bethany sat on the stairs, holding her Palom tight as he cried into her shoulder.

She reminded Cecil of a falcon, guarding her nest. All her benevolent attention was focused on her distraught beloved, who needed her strength in his moment of weakness. In the other hand, she kept a vicious eye on every other mage who came near, daring them to question her judgement, threatening a well-aimed fire spell to their hems if they bothered her.

An older man in black mage's garb was descending the staircase only to furrow his brow at the scene as he sidestepped around her.

"You might take this excessive display elsewhere, young lady," he commented.

She whipped her head around to pin her sharp green eyes on him.

"Well you are wasting the room's precious air and space, so two can play at that game. Get out of my sight!"

The older mage was visibly displeased by her verbal assault, but hurried out of her range, all the same.

An excellent red mage: walking a fine line, managing to offer healing to those who needed it, and harm to those who deserved it in the same instant. She briefly returned her attention to Palom, lovingly stroking his hair and whispering comforts. She had also noticed when the shining king of Baron had returned, though, and looked up to see her less shiny friend beside him.

She caught Ivri's eye and nodded her head in the direction of the infirmary, looking extremely worried, even from across the distance. Ivri nodded back, and took off on his own to the room, where Malachi would presumably greet him with the long and short of what had happened.

With that brief adventure concluded, Cecil sagged against the wall beside his brother.

"Well, that went well," he commented.

"The girl's father wasn't even home. I met two of her older brothers, who teased her cruelly for coming to her own boyfriend's aid. Their father will come storming along to collect her later, when he finds out where she has gone so suddenly. I have a feeling he will not like it."

"He allowed her to spend the better part of last week in Baron," Cecil pointed out with a shrug. "It's possible, though, that she failed to mention who she was going with, and why. They spoke very little about their families, when they were with us. I imagine their parents are generally disappointed and worried with them. Ivri's mother certainly was."

"That is a shame. I doubt this young lady could be safer under the guard of 100 bloodhounds, than she is with this young man. They truly do care for one another, do they not?"

"They speak of wedding plans in broad daylight, as if it were happening next week."

"Ah, for youth, and the sting of romance. Yet another great emotion that I have gone without for too long..."

Cecil couldn't help but smirk at his brother. "Romance? You were in love, once?"

Theo glanced back at the floor and crossed his arms defensively. "That is a tale for never."

"Alright, alright. I understand."

But in truth, he did not. In fact, he was boiling with curiosity.

Another hour passed in relative silence, as the household waited tensely for the queen of Baron to arrive with an airship. Very little happened in that time. Though everyone was relieved when a response arrived from the dwarves. The hand that wrote it was certainly Giott's-it was hasty and to the point, without any silly flourishes, though occasionally difficult to read properly. The letter informed them, however, that three fleets had been sent out to retrieve the crystals of the Underworld. All four would be assembled at the castle by morning the next day-the best they could manage so suddenly, the king apologized, though it would certainly be realized as quickly as possible.

Cecil did a quick calculation of the time. They would arrive at the castle well before the crystals did. He didn't like that; Palom was going to like it even less. But it was incredibly short notice, and everyone was doing the best they could...

All the same, Porom lay unconscious with her veins full of radioactive blood, which was violently wrestling its way out of her in every way it could. In spite of all their plans and hopes and promises, she was rapidly running out of time. How much more did she have left? How much more could they afford her? As minutes continued to tick by, Cecil became antsy and impatient. Where was Rosa? What was taking her so long...?

The sun was beginning to set, when finally he heard the hum of engines in the near distance. Standing outside the door to the tower, he was overcome with relief at the sight of a small airship coming closer and closer. On a normal day, it would have landed outside the city limits. However, the craft was small and sleek, and had been given leave to land in the tower's circular courtyard. There was no time or reason to march a dying girl all the way through the city, if the ship that would take her to treatment could land right outside the door. The citizens were sure to disapprove of this-so much needless noise and fuss, when they were trying to meditate, for goodness sake, and to what end?

Never minding what people would think of it, Cecil stood in silence as he waited for his wife to appear. She was in doctor mode: sleeves rolled up, hair out of her face, and an unusually stern expression that betrayed her queenship completely. As she marched off the ship with a pair of assistants following her, Cecil walked up to meet her.

"The Underworld? Really?"

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry! Its not my fault all this is happening at the last minute!"

"Is she really this bad off, I mean? If her state is as you've said, she's hardly in any shape to travel such a distance."

"If she doesn't make the trip, she won't have a chance at all. The mages fear that she can't hold out that long-if you could call it fear-but I know better. Porom is a strong girl. She can make it."

Rosa sighed, resigned.

"She's going to have to. It seems she has no other choice."

Cecil pointed her towards the infirmary, and her assistants followed her away. She stopped briefly to nod thankfully to her brother-in-law fo thinking so quickly, and he nodded back, glad to have been of help. There was little time for a more involved exchange.

Still on the stairs, Palom and Bethany had jumped to their feet to see that Rosa had finally arrived, and that there was an airship waiting outside. Without having to be told it was time to go, Palom stalked determinedly to the door, pulling Bethany along with him. Apparently, they had already discussed this. Still, Cecil felt the need to stop her before she got outside.

"Its a much longer way than to Baron," he cautioned her. "And I cannot guarantee how this will end. All I can tell you right now is that if you board this ship with us, you maybe stuck with us for a very long time, and we won't be able to bring you back."

To this, Bethany scoffed. "Good."

She was still furious that she had been sent for but never given the message. All the previous night and into this afternoon, her best friend had been dying an agonizing death, and her beloved had been left without a guardian or a comforter, and the people around them had done everything in their power to make sure she did not know about it. She looked ready to torch the whole city for the betrayal.

At the same time, she held her arms around Palom's slumped shoulders and gently guided him out into the deepening light.

"Hey, we're going to be okay, okay? Everything is going to be fine. And I'm not letting you out of my sight for even a second, I promise. I'll be right here, right next to you, and I'm not leaving until all this is over."

Theo came to stand in the doorway, watching with what seemed to be amusement as the young couple was ushered aboard by the ship's pilot.

"A formidable pair," he commented absently. "They have the power to will death away from her, I think."

"I agree. Better get on board, brother, its about to get very crowded on this tiny vessel."

Theo took his brother's advice and headed off to board the ship. Only a few minutes later, Rosa and her assistants filed out of the infirmary, the two students guiding Porom toward the door on a stretcher. She looked little better since the last time he had checked on her; if anything, her face seemed paler than before from further lack of blood.

Ivri trotted along at Rosa's side, trying not to get in her way, but clearly too worried to care if he did. She didn't seem to mind him, though. She understood fully and completely, and would allow it. Cecil thought to give the boy due warning about the journey that lay before him, as he had for Bethany; but as Ivri hurried right past him, hardly noticing him there, the king decided it was unnecessary. Ivri understood that there was no turning back. And even if he didn't, it wouldn't have changed his mind and he wouldn't have cared.

At last, they were taking off. As Cecil started out the door, a hand caught him by the arm. He turned and looked down to see a very fretful Malachi, his brown eyes glassy with tears.

"I wish that I could accompany you, but I must remain here. I do not doubt that you will take care of them, in my place."

Cecil smiled down at him. "I will. Porom will survive this. I know I shouldn't promise this, but I know she will."

"I must ask one thing more of you, young man," the Elder said quickly, removing a silver chain from around his neck and handing it over to Cecil. A thick silver ring hung from it, the top graced with a sizeable, square-cut ruby. Many armories and magic shops sold such rings-rubies are said to hold the spark of life, therefore valuable as protection. However, this piece was unlike the uniformly manufactured ruby rings he was familiar with. There was writing etched on the inside of the band, but it was in a rune language he couldn't read. The stone was crudely cut, though brilliantly polished, and sat at an odd but secure angle in the raised setting.

"I should have given them this ring when they returned from Baron. But we were all distracted by the moon's sudden return, and then by Porom's illness, and it fell by the wayside. This ring belonged to their mother; it was one of the few posessions she came to us with. Her final wish was that it pass to the twins, when they reached her age. It... Has its own secrets about it, which are for them to discover for themselves.

"I regret that Porom is unable to enjoy it at the moment. But you will give it to Palom for me, won't you? Perhaps it is better that I forgot about it earlier. Perhaps in this moment, when he most needs cheering up, this will raise his spirits and give him hope."

Cecil clasped the ring and nodded his head.

"Of course. I'll make sure that he gets this as soon as I can."

"Godspeed, then, my son. Go quickly."

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Author's Notes...

I just realized, if Cecil is Superman... Theo can be Batman. Palom can be Kid Flash. ;D

Lol, horrendously inappropriate frivolity is the best.